Meet the new Wunderlist: Microsoft's To-Do task manager takes over

It’s been almost two years since Microsoft bought the cross-platform task master Wunderlist, but you wouldn’t know it to look at it. Unlike Sunrise and Accompli, which were shuttered and combined into Outlook mobile, Wunderlist has mostly been left alone. But now Microsoft is finally ready to show off what it’s been working on.

Called Microsoft To-Do, the new app might have an uninspired name, but it’s been completely reimagined. With a simple design and ultra-minimal interface, the app looks like a pretty standard task manager, allowing you to create to-dos and lists, and add reminders and due dates. You can add notes inside tasks, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to create subtasks like you could in Wunderlist.

The notable addition in To-Do is the focused My Day screen, which keeps lists and to-dos hidden until they need to get done. As Microsoft describes, “Every morning, your My Day list starts out with a clean slate, allowing you to be more intentional about what you want to get done.” However, all your tasks are still available in the slide-out sidebar, so you can always get an overview of your schedule.

Also new is Intelligent Suggestions, which will collect imminent to-dos and automatically add them to your day. To get to your suggestions, tap the lightbulb icon at the top right of the My Day screen, and you’ll see completed tasks from the prior day, whatever is due or upcoming, and "other helpful suggestions based on To-Do’s smart algorithm.” From there you'll be able to add any of them to the My Day screen.

Notably missing from To-Do (along with any pro-level features) is integration with Office 365, but Microsoft says it will be added in the coming months, starting with Outlook. Microsoft also has made security a top priority in To-Do, with end-to-end encryption.

The preview version of the app is available on the web, as well as iOS, Android, and Windows 10 devices, with the final version arriving later this year. In the meantime, Wunderlist will continue to exist, and Microsoft promises to add “more of the favorite elements of Wunderlist into the To-Do experience," adding list sharing, and bringing support for the Mac, iPad and Android tablets.

The impact on you at home: Microsoft To-Do is clearly just a start. The app is incredibly basic at the moment, with the most rudimentary of features for a task manager, but it’s still worth a download to check it out. Like Wunderlist, the design and navigation are top-notch, and the intelligent suggestions could very well turn into an awesome feature. But there is a long way to go is Microsoft expects it to ever reach the level of Wunderlist or Todist.

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